Stroke Misdiagnosis

Facing the emotional and physical consequences of a stroke misdiagnosis can be devastating for the patient and their families, but you don’t have to navigate these difficult times alone. A Chicago stroke misdiagnosis lawyer can help you seek justice and fair compensation for any harm caused by medical oversights.

Keep reading to learn more about what causes these diagnosis errors and how legal actions could address your needs.

Types of Strokes

A stroke occurs when part of your brain doesn’t get sufficient blood supply, which prevents brain tissue from getting the oxygen and nutrients it needs. This can happen due to a blocked blood vessel often caused by a blood clot, or when a leaking or bursting of a blood vessel causes damage to the brain.

Strokes are critical medical conditions that require immediate medical treatment for the best outcome.

Here are the primary types of strokes:

• Ischemic Stroke: This medical emergency is the most common type of stroke, accounting for about 87% of all cases. [1] An ischemic stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, often by blood clots. A blood clot can either form in the brain’s blood vessels, in blood vessels leading to the brain, or in blood vessels elsewhere in the body and then travel to the brain, causing the ischemic stroke.
• Hemorrhagic Stroke: A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a weakened blood vessel in the brain leaks blood or ruptures. This puts pressure on the brain cells, damaging them. Hemorrhagic strokes are less common but are more deadly than ischemic strokes. [2] They are typically caused by high blood pressure, aneurysms, or arteriovenous malformations.
• Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA): Often called a mini-stroke, a TIA is a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain. Despite not causing permanent brain damage, a transient ischemic attack serves as a warning sign of a full stroke and requires immediate medical treatment to prevent more severe strokes from happening.

Warning Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke

and symptoms of a stroke is critical for ensuring timely treatment, which can significantly impact the outcome of treatment and minimize brain damage. Here are the key signs to watch for that should lead you to seek treatment:

• Unexpected numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

Prompt diagnosis and reaction to these symptoms by a medical professional can be the difference between recovery and lasting disability, as quick action can prevent the death of brain tissue.

If you or someone you know exhibits any of these signs, it’s vital to seek emergency medical services immediately.

The Consequences of a Delayed or Missed Diagnosis

The repercussions of failing to receive a correct diagnosis can be significant and far-reaching. These errors can impact almost every aspect of your life and the repercussions often include:

Worsening Condition

When there are delays in diagnosing such serious health issues, this can lead stroke patients to progressively get worse, as there is pressure on brain cells, and brain tissue can die. Studies have shown that early-stage intervention is crucial to improve outcomes. This type of failure can lead to serious injury, like permanent brain damage. [3]

Increased Risk of Complications and Death

Timely diagnosis and prompt treatment are essential to prevent health complications or the progression of a stroke. Delays can dramatically increase the risk of other health complications or even death.

Increased Medical Costs

Delays in diagnosis not only affect the well-being of stroke patients but can also lead to skyrocketing healthcare costs. Additional treatments and prolonged hospital stays, sometimes resulting from preventable complications, invariably add financial burdens on the stroke patient and their family.

Reduced Quality of Life

Incorrect diagnoses when a stroke occurs can mean enduring long-term conditions that could have been avoided or mitigated with prompt care. This ongoing struggle can lead to serious neurological deficits, which can significantly diminish an individual’s quality of life, limiting their ability to work, participate in regular activities, and enjoy personal relationships.

Psychological Impact

The psychological impact of medical errors, especially when they result in prolonged illness or permanent disability, can be as debilitating as the physical effects. Stroke victims may suffer from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder in some cases.

The consequences of a missed or inaccurate diagnosis have significant and sometimes irreversible impacts on a patient’s life.

What Leads to the Failure to Diagnose a Stroke?

Misdiagnosis of serious medical events such as strokes can be attributed to several factors, including:

• Atypical Symptoms: Medical professionals might miss diagnosing a stroke if there are unusual symptoms that don’t typically point to a stroke.
• Age-Related Assumptions: Sometimes healthcare providers incorrectly attribute symptoms indicative of stroke with normal aging side effects or assume that a younger person isn’t having a stroke because of their age and otherwise good health.
• Systemic Healthcare Issues: Overcrowding, understaffing leading to severe fatigue, and other systemic issues can lead to healthcare professionals missing essential cues or not having enough time to thoroughly assess a patient.
• Insufficient Training or Experience: Some medical providers may lack the specialized training necessary to accurately identify stroke symptoms, which can be subtle, especially when working in high-stress environments like emergency rooms.
• Ignoring Patient History: A comprehensive review of a patient’s medical history is critical in identifying risk factors for conditions like a stroke. When healthcare providers fail to fully consider this information, they may miss signs that could have been caught with more diligent attention to historical details.
• Communication Issues: Communication breakdowns, whether between patient and provider or within medical teams, can also significantly impact the accuracy of diagnoses by causing delays or leading to the exchange of inaccurate information.
• Personal Bias: Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals bring personal experiences into their practice, consciously or unconsciously. When these biases affect medical judgment, they may lead to misinterpretation of symptoms or dismissing patient complaints that should prompt them to diagnose a stroke.

The misdiagnosis of a stroke can have devastating consequences, which is why it’s essential that you have an advocate in your corner if this has happened to someone you love.

Can You Sue for a Missed or Delayed Stroke Diagnosis?

In Illinois, successfully suing for an incorrect diagnosis of a stroke hinges on proving medical negligence. This involves establishing four critical elements:

• Duty of Care: This element requires showing that there is a professional relationship between the healthcare provider and the patient, establishing the provider’s duty to offer competent care.
• Breach of Duty: To establish this element, it must be demonstrated that the healthcare provider failed to adhere to the standard of care expected of them, based on what other healthcare professionals in their field and area would have done under similar circumstances.
• Causation: It must be proven that the healthcare provider’s breach of duty directly caused the patient harm. This means showing that the delay or misdiagnosis worsened the patient’s condition or outcome.
• Damages: Finally, the patient must have suffered actual harm as a result of the negligence. This can include physical brain injury, financial loss (such as medical bills or lost wages), and pain and suffering.

Fulfilling all these elements can be complex, requiring testimony from medical experts and a detailed review of medical records. Consulting with an experienced Chicago medical malpractice attorney can provide clarity on the viability of your case.

What to Do Following Stroke Misdiagnosis

If you or a loved one has suffered due to the misdiagnosis of a stroke, there are important steps to take that can help ensure appropriate and prompt treatment and address potential legal action:

• Seek treatment immediately
• Compile your medical records
• Document everything related to misdiagnosis
• Consult with a specialist
• Contact a medical malpractice lawyer

If an accurate diagnosis is not made, certain steps must be taken to address the present health needs of this medical emergency and hold responsible parties accountable.

Liability for Stroke Misdiagnosis

Liability in cases of misdiagnosis of a stroke can extend to various parties involved in the patient’s care. Understanding who can be held liable is a critical aspect of building your legal case.

A Chicago misdiagnosis lawyer from our law firm can help you prove liability of the following parties:

• Primary care physicians: This medical professional can be held liable if they fail to recognize stroke symptoms, fail to administer medication appropriately, or do not refer the patient to a specialist in a timely manner.
• Emergency room staff: Given the time-sensitive nature of stroke medical treatment, an emergency room medical professional can be liable for not promptly diagnosing or treating a stroke, leading to poor patient outcomes.
• Neurologists and other specialists: Specialists who fail to diagnose or delay the proper diagnosis, especially after being referred by primary care or emergency room staff, can also be held liable.
• Hospitals and medical facilities: The institutions themselves can be responsible for systemic failures, such as a lack of proper diagnostic tools or protocols that prevent the diagnosis of a condition.
• Radiologists: If these specialists fail to order proper tests to recognize blood clots or misread imaging results that could have identified a stroke, they can be held responsible for the misdiagnosis and its repercussions.

Evidence Needed to Support Your Case

To build a compelling case for medical malpractice due to a failure to accurately diagnose stroke, gathering concrete evidence is crucial. Essential pieces of evidence include:

• Medical documents.
• Testimony from medical experts
• Witness statements
• Financial documentation showing medical expenses and lost wages

Gathering this evidence can be complicated, but it’s a crucial step in proving that the behavior should constitute medical negligence and allowing you to secure the compensation you deserve.

Damages You Can Recover in a Stroke Misdiagnosis Claim

In a medical malpractice claim, stroke victims or their families may seek compensation for damages incurred due to the medical professional’s negligence. Examples of damages that can be recovered include:

• Economic Damages: These are designed to reimburse actual financial losses attributed to the incident, often including healthcare expenses, lost income, rehabilitation costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses. In cases where long-term care or lifestyle changes are necessitated by the misdiagnosis, future anticipated expenses can also be included.
• Non-Economic Damages: These acknowledge and compensate for more intangible damages that stroke victims suffer, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, or loss of companionship.
• Punitive Damages: These are less common but can be awarded if there is clear proof that a medical provider’s actions were willful or demonstrated a wanton disregard for patient safety. These serve as a punishment and to discourage similar behaviors in the future.
• Wrongful Death Damages: In tragic cases where misdiagnosis leads to loss of life, wrongful death claims can be made by the surviving family members. Chicago wrongful death lawyers can recover compensation for medical bills incurred before their passing, funeral and burial costs, and lost future earnings as well as compensation for the survivors’ loss of companionship, care, or protection.

The Importance of Hiring a Stroke Misdiagnosis Attorney

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, our specialized knowledge and experience in handling complex medical cases like stroke misdiagnosis sets us apart. We have the tools to assert your rights, from interpreting technical medical data to fighting against well-resourced legal teams and insurance companies.

The complexity of medical malpractice claims requires expert assistance. A stroke misdiagnosis attorney from our law firm can help by ensuring that every aspect of your case is thoroughly examined, from medical records to consultations with relevant experts, and that all evidence pointing toward misdiagnosis is expertly presented.

The Time Limit to File a Claim Following Stroke Misdiagnosis

In Illinois, the statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, including cases involving stroke misdiagnosis, is typically two years from the date of the injury or from when you discover or should have reasonably discovered that an injury has occurred. However, there can be exceptions that may shorten or extend this deadline.

Contact a Chicago Stroke Misdiagnosis Lawyer Today!

The road to recovery following a misdiagnosis can be overwhelming, but securing the appropriate law firm is key to finding justice and compensation for your suffering. If you need help, legal recourse may be available.

Contact Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation with our medical malpractice lawyers. Reach out online or call us at (888) 424-5757.

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Resources: [1] NIH, [2] NIH, [3] NIH

All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.